It never rains, it pours
by NovaSinopa
Summary: Mila Phillips is Charlie Weasleys Slytherin. They've been best friends, despite their house rivalry, since they met on the train. Now in their final year they are testing the boundaries of magical theory, things might get a little stormy. One-shot for Harry Potter fanfiction and The Golden Snitch


AN: I took some liberties with this and made an original character, a spell, Puvian, which is Latin for rain (according to google so who really knows) and made Newt level Astronomy more like a bachelors where you have a large written assignment, which this one shot focuses on, as well as exams that contribute to the final grade. Anyway I hope you enjoy my re-introduction to fanfiction after an absence of a few years!

Written for **Madam Malkin's Dress Up Shop Challenge** by **whitetiger91** — **The Golden Snitch** [Forum].

 **Prompt** —Alien Antennas: write about Astronomy Class.

And for the **Random Character Challenge** by **SnarkyAndProudHufflpuff – Harry Potter FanFiction Challenges** [Forum]

 **Prompts:** _**S**_ _ecret,_ **Prank** _,_ **Pumpkin Juice** _,_ **First** _, Red,_ **Green** _,_ **Orange** _._

 _"Never appologise for showing feeling. When you do so, you appologise for the truth."-Benjamin Disraeli._

 **Personal prompts:** _Excuses, Thankful,_

* * *

"Damn you Charlie you carrot headed twerp," Mila huffed as she sprinted up the spiral staircase leading to the astronomy tower hiking her back more securely onto her shoulder "keep up for Merlin's sake we're going to be late!" The Sound of two pairs of dragon-hide boots bounced against the roughly worked stone walls.

"Look I apologised already, it's not my fault you ended up with the wrong cup of juice so can you quit harping on at me about it." Charlie's indignant reply only had Mila grinding her teeth harder in an effort not to snap back at the focus of her growing anger.

It was, in fact, entirely Charlie's fault. His grand plan had been to spike the pumpkin juice, her pumpkin juice to be precise. Well it wasn't entirely her pumpkin juice it was the Slytherin pumpkin juice. Unfortunately his aim had been off and instead of hitting the jug shared by the vapid Slytherin girls who'd consistently tried to make her, and his life hell over the past 6 years, he'd managed to hit her cup. A cup which she then decided to take a sip from. The result had been a head full of snakes. He'd literally turned her into a gorgon except she couldn't turn him to stone despite how deadly she made her glare.

Then even better he didn't have a counter curse prepared since he hadn't expected to hit anyone he actually liked. Honestly its like he conveniently forgot that Slytherin house politics dictated that no matter how much you despised each other internally you still had to appear to be a united front at public occasions.

"If my final grade didn't rest on this partnered project I would kill you Weasley." The growl was so low in her throat that it almost came out as a hiss which was backed by the writhing mass of serpents spitting in place of her hair.

"You wouldn't kill me, without me you'd be bored and you know it." She could practically feel his self entitled smirk burning against the back of her skull and she narrowed her eyes dangerously in response pivoting at the pinnacle of the stairs to rain hell and fury down on him.

Unfortunately for the both of them Charlie was not expecting her sudden stop and with momentum carrying him forward, and being well built from beater training, sent both himself and Mila careening through the classroom door to lie in a heap at the bottom of Professor Sinistra's outside desk.

"Mr Weasley, Miss Phillips, if the test marks were based purely on amateur dramatics then you two would score full marks," Professor Sinistra paused peering down at them over the tops of her moon spectacles, "sadly that is not the case and you are both late for my class."

"Sorry Mistress Septima." A typical Gryffindor Charlie gave a roguish smile, that sat far too comfortably on his face considering that he had a writhing mass of orange serpent hair, and there was an angry temporary gorgon hidden beneath his bulk who's head snakes were striking with the angry vengeance of their owner.

There was a muffled, "Get off me you great orange oaf!" and Mila, crowned with snakes, emerged from the crumpled heap she'd found herself in on the floor. There was a chorus of snickers from most of the class tempered by the deep sounds of disapproval from the Slytherin side. Whispers of proprietary and association with blood traitors was bandied about made all the more clearer by her temporary state. But she was a Slytherin and she'd hold her head high because she was better than them, because her friendship with the red headed, foolishly smiling fiend made her better.

"My apologies Mistress Sinistra, we were held up." In fact she'd spent 3 hours being prodded by Madam Pomfry, while Charlie had watched contritely, to conclude, after a thorough examination with a consultation from Professor Snape, that the condition was not permanent and that with the consumption of the rather vile sludge that appeared to glow a sickly green each morning before breakfast her ebony locks would return to normal. Although there was a mention of slightly sentient hair but at that point she was just glad she wouldn't have to live with snakes on her head for the rest of her life. Then she'd never been able to forgive the stupid troll she'd been landed with as a best friend. The remainder of the time had been taken up by Charlie who, in an effort to make it up to her, had transfigured his own hair into a set of obnoxiously orange snakes. So they'd had to traipse back to the infirmary landing him with the same concoction and now people thought they were contagious. At least it kept the shoving in the corridors at bay.

Mistress Sinistra seemed to consider them both as though she was appraising them for entry to the underworld. She was a no nonsense professor and she didn't stand for foolishness especially from the students which she favoured for their enthusiasm and dedication to the subject. Mila had always been one of those students. Deeply interested in the mysteries that the universe held and the application of certain astrological events which gave strength to spell crafting. After what could have been an eternity in a minute she let out a sigh of exasperation. " I expect you both not to disrupt the rest of the class, you will receive no extra time for you're tardiness."

Mila did her best to contain the glare she most desperately wanted to send her snake headed partner but her own snakes betrayed her emotion as they hissed and struck out at Charlie's. "Yes Madam Sinistra." Having snakes on your head which seemed to be in tune with your emotions was becoming particularly troublesome. Slytherins didn't show emotion, she really was breaking all the rules.

They set up their equipment in silence, Charlie attempting to make eye contact with her, but she wasn't having it.

"Mila I really am sorry you know." The silence seemed to stretch between them, his head snakes drooping till they lay flat against his scalp with each passing moment. It was pathetic really. She couldn't contain herself and a few chuckles slipped out causing Sinistra to shush them with a stern look. But the effect was instantaneous, the orange serpents perking up with the emotion of their person.

"You look ridiculous."

"Well so do you!"

They shared a smile.

They were each others first friends and despite all odds they had remained so. Friendships between a Slytherins and Gryffindors were always a struggle. Initially they had met on the train, sharing a compartment out of necessity and as most first years tended to do they stuck together all the way to the great hall where their fates were decided by a scruffy old hat. While Mila's family were mostly made up of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs there were a few Slytherins coiled about the family tree. She was distantly related to the Black's, so she knew all about the rivalry between their two houses. She'd spent the whole of the great feast morning the loss of her first friend, but then he'd quite brazenly approached her the next day in potions. Gryffindors were known for their bravery, not for their tact.

Of course she'd turned him down for show and then caught up with him later to accept but in secret. For years they'd managed to maintain their close friendship till this final year. Their last year. Someone, and they both suspected a Slytherin, had ousted them. The Gryffindor's saw it as a ploy, obviously as a snake she was out to derail their Quidditch captain in an effort to win the house cup. The most openly brazen – normally members of the Charlie Weasley fan club – sent vicious hexes her way. Slytherin had upped their corridor cursing on the Gryffindors but behind doors she was also a victim of it and honestly it was tiresome.

"I'll place the rune circle, you set up on our last coordinates, remember not to mix up right ascension and declination this time Charlie."

"Yes master." She rolled her eyes at him, which he replied to by sticking out his tongue. Mature.

Despite the battles they were facing on both fronts they were true friends and she wasn't going to give that up for anything. Besides they were becoming rather proficient at duelling.

Astronomy class was one of the few classes which they were relatively safe. They'd been able to pick their own partners and telescopes were set up as far apart as the space allowed to accommodate the different rune circled needed by each pair. Plus there were only fourteen students of which 3 were Slytherin and 2 were Gryffindor. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs remained neutral in the war over which houses couldn't be friends. So instead of dodging sly curses and having to shear up your backbone to glares and stares they were actually able to work.

Their project – as you got to pick your own – involved the strengthening properties of the aphelion positions of planetary bodies on spell casting. By focusing the image of Jupiter, which reached aphelion tonight, on the spell casting rune circle they were hoping to produce a powerful effec in water based magic. Their previous work on Mars gave them the tentative theory that the types of magic strengthened were related to Roman deities. Mars had caused a 33% strengthening in defensive and offensive spells primarily focused in duelling which seemed to coincide with Mars' position as a god of war. They'd come to the conclusion that it might be a result of the proto-magic of that era begin primarily controlled on instinct, the Romans realising their defensive and offensive magic was more powerful when Mars was brightest in the sky.

"Right Jupiter is in focus."

"Excellent, well done Charlie. Open the lens shutter." Jupiter flickered into life at the centre of the rune circle causes a deep blue to bleed into the sparking magic. Both of their head serpents hiss with excited anticipation.

"Ready?" She nodded at Charlie her quilled poised on the parchment of their project journal.

"Pluvian" Charlie deftly moved his wand above the projected Jupiter image but there was nothing.

"Did you do that right?"

"Definitely, I'm certain I did." They waited for a few moments but nothing happened and their snaked drooped.

"Maybe we were wron-"

A splash against her nose caused Mila to start. In synch they cast their eyes towards the sky. Instead of a plethora of stars scintillating invitingly from the heavens dark storm clouds were gathering. They were quickly spreading out from a point centred above their rune circle, bleeding over the edges and rapidly approaching the positions of the other students. One by one the objects each pair was studying became obscured by the increasingly menacing storm cloud.

Without warning the heavens opened in a torrent that saw papers drenched and robes sodden. Mistress Sinistra looked equal parts horrified and impressed by the strength of the downpour they had managed to conjure.

In the eye of the storm Charlie and Mila were laughing.

"I think we might have over did it Charlie."

He grinned manically at her. "Do you think this counts as disrupting the class?"

Despite the thundering downpour 12 students could have sworn they heard a knot of snakes laugh.


End file.
